As investigations continue on the video showing the beating of two handcuffed men by a group of men, Prime Minister, Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama stressed that the people of the country should acknowledge the hard work of the security personnel.
In an interview with Fijivillage, Commodore Bainimarama said the matter is being investigated but at the same time he said the work of the security personnel is not easy.
Commodore Bainimarama said although people are making comments that excessive force was used and are speculating about the people in the video, he said as head of security in the country, this is his stand.
“At the end of the day, I will stick by my men, by the police officers or anyone else that might be named in this investigation. We cannot discard them just because they’ve done their duty in looking after the security of this nation and making sure we sleep peacefully at night.”
He said people should not forget what the escaped prisoners do when they break out of prison.
He said so many people are terrorized and hurt through their actions.
Earlier Stories:
Saturday:
I will stand by my men – PM
Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama said he will stick by the security personnel of Fiji as they worked tirelessly last year to ensure that prison escapees are recaptured.
In an exclusive interview with Fijivillage, Commodore Bainimarama said while people are speculating on who was involved in the recent video of two people getting badly beaten up by a group of men and are saying excessive force has been used, he stresses that people should know that the security personnel work hard to protect the citizens of Fiji from hardened criminals.
“No one has been identified but people keep referring to it as prisoners who escaped from Naboro last year. If you can remember that story, they broke into the bank and terrorized the people of Fiji for 2 whole weeks. In that 2 weeks I remember I was very worried about the security of the people of Fiji. The police are going to conduct their own investigation. These people should not forget what these guys did when they broke out of prison in those 2 weeks. A lot of people too don’t seem to understand what came out of the interrogation that happened during that time. I’m not tying that interrogation to the video but a lot of things were discovered during the interrogation of the Naboro prisoners that broke away from prison. One of them was those guys had been taught how to react during interrogation, what to say, how to plead with those people that had arrested them. During the arrest of those Naboro prisoners last year, we discovered that whilst they were still under arrest, people from inside the prison were still calling them on their phones. In other words, Commissioner of Prisons has his work cut out for him.”
Commodore Bainimarama said investigations will be held but as the head of the government and the person responsible for the security of the nation, the Prime Minister has made it clear that he stands by the security personnel.
“At the end of the day, I will stick by my men, by the police officers or anyone else that might be named in this investigation. We cannot discard them just because they’ve done their duty in looking after the security of this nation and making sure we sleep peacefully at night.”
Commodore Bainimarama also said he is not worried about what all the NGO’s are saying.
“NGOs are paid by the international community to jump up and down every time we do something. That’s their job, they’re paid to do that by the people that fund them. I really don’t think we should worry too much about what the NGOs say in instances such as this. These guys, the security people do their work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to look after the security and the safety of the NGOs such as those that are talking now.”
We will have more from Commodore Bainimarama’s interview later.
Friday:
Video of security personnel and recaptured prisoners under investigation
The formal investigation into the circumstances surrounding the video recording of Fijian security personnel and recaptured prison escapees is continuing.
A government statement has for the first time said that it is a video recording of security personnel and recaptured prison escapees.
Police had earlier said that there should be no speculation on the identities of the people involved in the video which shows two handcuffed men getting badly beaten up by a group of men.
The government said there will be no further statement until the investigation is complete and its findings are released by Government.
International calls for an independent investigation by external organisations are also rejected.
The government said it is normal practice for any government around the world to conduct its own investigations into such matters.
It said the same conventions apply in Fiji as in any other country dealing with allegations against the police, such as those currently taking place in Australia and South Africa.
Fijivillage contacted the Police Commissioner, Brigadier General Ioane Naivalurua yesterday and he only said that investigations continue and there should be no speculation or judgement on the identities of the people involved.
Story by: Vijay Narayan
